Draft-gear yoke.



W. .L'REGANx DRAFT GEAR YOKE. APPLICATION mno :uwV 12. |911.'

`Patented Mar. 12, 1.918.

4 su@ .ik

WILLIAM J. REGAN, OP PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE MCCONWAY &

TORIJEY COMPANY, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPGRATIGN OF PENN- SYLVANIA.

DRAFT-GEAR YOKE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 12, 1918.

To all 'whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, WILLIAM J. REGAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Pittsburgh, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Draft-Gear Yokes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to draft gear for railway cars and particularly to the yoke element thereof. The object of the invention is to produce a simple, strong and reliable form of draft gear yoke that may be largely fabricated from wrought metal, which, as is well known, is free vfrom blow holes and practically without flaws such as may occur in castings even where the best foundry practice has been followed.

Generally stated, one of the primary features of my invention consists in making the spring-pocket member of the yoke of wrought metal and in providing it with transversely extending portions around which the head of the yoke is cast, the head and the spring-pocket members of the yoke thus being rigidly united. A further principal feature of the invention consists in inwardly offsetting the longitudinally extending forward ends of the spring-pocket member so that they may be connected with the means whereby the car coupler is secured to the head portion of the yoke, the construction being such that the pivot pin or other fastening device for connecting the coupler and yoke insures the integrity of the connection by affording at least four shearing sections for resisting the strains imposed upon it in service.

There are other features of invention residing in the particular forms and relations of the parts, all as will hereinafter appear.

In the drawings illustrating the best mode in which I contemplate applying the principle of the invention, the scope whereof is pointed out in the claims,

Figure 1 is a plan view of a draft gear yoke embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a view, partly in vertical central section and partly in side elevation, illustrating the yoke shown in Fig. 1, the relation of a car coupler thereto being indicated in dotted lines.

Fig. 8 is a detail sectional View, taken in the plane of the line 3 3, Fig. 2.

The yoke is composed of two principal parts, a head 1 and a spring-pocket member or loop 2. The head is cast, but the springpocket member preferably is formed from wrought iron.

The head 1 is adapted to be connected to the rear end of a car coupler 3. For this purpose it is preferably provided with forwardly extending lugs 4 having alined apertures 5 that are adapted to receive a tail pin or pivot pin 6 which serves to secure the coupler to the yoke. Rearwardly of the lugs 4 the head 1 has transversely extending chambers 7 in which are located correspondingly extending portions 8 of the springpocket member 2. The chambers 7 preferably merge and open forwardly at the center of the head l between the forwardly projecting lugs l of said head.

The forward ends of the arms of the spring-pocket member 2 are offset inwardly to form longitudinally disposed portions or extensions 9 which project forwardly through the centrally located mouth of the chambers 7. These extensions 9 of the spring-pocket arms have perforations 10 that are alined with and correspond to the apertures 5 in the lugs 4C so 'as to receive and engage the tailpin 6 or other fastening device employed to connect the car coupler 3 to the draft gear yoke. By this construction the wrought metal spring-pocket member is directly connected to the coupler and the lugs 4 of the cast metal head 1 are relieved of a proportionate part of the load communicated from the car coupler to the yoke. By this construction also the tail pin 6 is enabled to present four shearing sections to resist the strains imposed upon it in service.

The rear end 11 of the head 1 is adapted to engage the forward follower of the wellknown cushioning unit of springs and followers (not shown).

The yoke. construction heretofore described is preferably manufactured in the following manner The wrought iron springpocket member 2 is first bent into shape, thel longitudinally extending offset portions 9 at the forward ends of its arms being brought close together, but preferably not being welded. The spring-pocket member is then put in a suitable mold and the head 1 is then east around it.

I claim:

l. A draft gear yoke having a cast metal head and .a wrought metal spring-pocket member, said'head'having forwardly extending lugs, and said spring-pocket member having a forward extension spaced from and interposed between said lugs, said lugs and said `extension being adapted to engage means for securing said yoke to a car coupler.

2. A draft ge-ar yoke comprising a springpocket member and a head adapted to be secured to a-carfcou-pler, said head having a plurality of lugs adapted to engage means for securing said head to the car coupler, and also having an opening between said lugs through which a portion -of said springpocket member projects, said projecting portion yof said spring-pocket member being adapted to engage the said means for securing said head to thecar coupler.

3. A ldra-ft gear yoke involving a wrought metal spring-pocket member the forward ends of whose arms are offset inwardly toward'the longitudinal axis of the yoke, and means connecting the forward ends of said arms to prevent the spreading thereof, said offset portions being perforated to receive means for connecting said spring-pocket member to a car coupler and being adapted a y.wrought :metal spring-pocket member con.

nected to said head and adapted to engage means for securing said coupler tothe yoke, said means being subjected to shear at a plurality of sections adjacent said head and being also subjected to shear at a plurality of other sec-tions adjacent `said wrought metal spring-.pocket member.

:6. A draft gear yoke y comprising .a .cast metal head member having a plurality of spaced forwardly projecting lugs, and a wrought -metal spring pocket member the forward ends ofthe arms of which are oH- -set inwardly toward :the longitudinal axis of the yoke, saidspring pocket .member having 'transversely extending portions embedded in said cast metal head memberand said cast metal head constituting 'means for connecting :the forward ends of the spring pocket and preventing the spreading Ythereof, and the projecting lugs of theV head constituting means for securing the head member to a car coupler.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

wrLLiAM J. Brenn.

`Copies of this patent may be vobtained for ve cents each, by addressing the ommissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

